People now ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity instead of typing into a search box. What does it take to be the source they cite? The concepts, a 12-question self-check, and exactly what to build, all on one page.
We start with the most common question. The three are not rivals. They are a sequence.
| SEO | AEO | GEO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In plain words | Search engine optimization | Answer engine optimization | Generative engine optimization |
| Goal | Rank higher in search results | Get cited in AI answers | Grow your share inside the answer |
| Success test | Rankings and clicks | Are you shown as a source? | Share of mentions |
| Raw material | Keywords · backlinks · speed | Verifiable facts · structured data · question-led content | Localization · outside mentions · text reviews |
| Who reads it | Search crawlers | GPTBot · PerplexityBot · ClaudeBot | Generative models |
| First check | Are you being indexed? | Are you blocking AI crawlers? | Does each market have its own URL? |
One line: SEO gets you read. AEO and GEO get you cited. You do not drop SEO. You build on top of it.
Both are about getting you into AI answers. AEO (answer engine optimization) asks whether you are cited. GEO (generative engine optimization) asks how often and how prominently you are mentioned. In practice the preparation is almost identical, so they are usually handled together.
No. Most pages that AI cites are also properly indexed by search engines. SEO gets you read; AEO and GEO get you cited. SEO comes first.
Start with robots.txt. If names like GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot or Google-Extended are blocked with Disallow, nothing else you do will get you cited. More sites are blocked without knowing it than you would expect.
Twelve questions check how much of the five ingredients above your site already has. The action list is reordered for your industry and target market. Your answers stay in this browser.
We adjust the criteria to your answers.
What you enter stays in this browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
Picked from your weakest area first, ordered by effort versus impact.
Based on your result we will send a detailed brand report: competitor comparison, a step-by-step guide per question, and priorities by market. We can also help you carry it out.
The five areas of the check are the five things to build. Start with whichever scored lowest above.
Founding year, manufacturer, headquarters, certification and test numbers, specs and prices. AI does not cite impressions, it cites facts. “Skin irritation test completed (n=32, 2025)” gets cited. “Gentle” does not.
Markup that tells machines “this is a company, this is a product, this is the price”. Without it, even good writing is just a blob of text.
Write them like “What is in ○○?” or “Does it suit oily skin?”. When the title is the question and the answer ends within two or three sentences, AI lifts the whole paragraph.
A translation that only appears after a button click is not “that country’s page” to an AI. URLs must split, like /tw/ and /en/. Whether you get cited in Taiwan depends on what people there actually call a moisturizer.
AI trusts what others say more than what you say about yourself. Press, review sites, community mentions, and reviews written as text rather than screenshots.
Make one, but keep expectations low. Google has stated in its official documentation that it does not use llms.txt. We confirmed this while auditing all 245 pages of our site in a single day. Structured data and question-led content rank far higher on the priority list.
Because AI mostly cannot read text inside images. If specs, ingredients and prices exist only in an image, the page is blank to an AI and drops out of consideration. It is the most common mistake in cosmetics and fashion. Keep the design as it is and repeat the same content as text below it. That alone fixes it.
Unblocking crawlers and adding structured data show up within days to weeks. Signals that others write for you, like outside mentions and reviews, take months. That is why the result orders your to-do list from least effort and fastest payoff.
Free, and no account needed. The brand name and answers you enter stay in this browser and are never sent to a server. Twelve questions, about two minutes, and you get a score out of 100, a breakdown by area, and three things to do right now.